Mystic Ice Dragon Ascent!

Meeting too late—who could say that there had long been light partings and light breaks?

At one moment, the two of them actually felt a trace of mutual appreciation that could not be told to outsiders, only understood without words.

Still, the person who needed a beating had to be beaten.

Sensing the Dou Qi Energy Hai Bodong was frantically mobilizing within his body, Chen Guan's expression became more serious than ever before.

"Mystic Ice Dragon Ascent!"

"Thirty-Three Layers of Boundless Ocean!"

Almost simultaneously, the two launched another attack.

The difference was that Hai Bodong shouted aloud with imposing aura, while the young man found it too embarrassing and merely recited it in his heart.

The sea of fiery sword energy grew even more immense. Fierce Energy Blasts spread outward, instantly tearing the collapsed shops into powder. This ultimate offensive made the watching mercenaries hold their breath.

Before the whale could drink in the sea, sword energy had already stretched across the autumn skies! Yet Hai Bodong, facing it head-on, remained utterly unafraid. His hand seals were already formed as he pushed an icy dragon, frigid enough to pierce the bone, from his side. It roared as it charged forward.

The previous one had merely been a Pinduoduo version made from four layers of Mystic Ice Spinning Kill.

Only now did Mystic Ice Dragon Ascent reveal its true form! "Break!"

The two Dou Techniques collided, and terrifying energy raged through the air. The enormous shockwave that swept outward nearly made the young man lose his grip on his broadsword, while his Dou Qi Armor shattered.

Fortunately, this outcome was still within the young man's acceptable range.

Shifting slightly to the side, Chen Guan fiercely raised all the Dou Qi in his body and swung his sword again at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, knocking the ice dragon, which had been waiting for an opening, several feet away.

Taking advantage of that gap, he launched the attack he had long prepared.

"Myriad God Calamity!"

A pair of dark crimson sword wings spread behind him, faint Blazing Flames flickering across them, gorgeous and brilliant.

What was even more astonishing was its terrifying speed. It was so fast that even Hai Bodong nearly failed to react. Seeing a flash of red light assault him, he could only hastily gather an ice shield before himself.

"Mystic Ice Shield!"

Boom! A tremendous crash came from behind them. The out-of-control ice dragon destroyed more than ten shops in succession before striking the Back Mountain and dissipating.

No one noticed that amid the violent commotion, there were also the sounds of an ice shield and ice armor breaking apart.

Feeling the scorching heat on his cheek, Hai Bodong could hardly believe it. His body stiffened as he turned around and looked up at the young man in the air.

Those dazzling sword wings were now painfully eye-catching.

"What a lucky brat. He even possesses such a strange Dou Technique."

Hai Bodong remarked with a grim face.

Though he felt that the brat had fought without martial ethics, the fact remained that he had suffered a loss. In a life-or-death battle, no one would care about the process.

The active Dou Qi Energy around him gradually settled, and he had no intention of attacking again. If they continued, one of them would truly have to lie flat before this was over.

I really hate people who show off in front of me.

It's all that woman's fault. If not for the seal within my body, the one standing in the air right now should have been me! Chen Guan's face turned slightly pale. This sparring match had also drained him enormously. Fortunately, he had switched to an Earth-tier cultivation method; otherwise, the Dou Qi in his body would never have been enough to sustain such a battle.

In the final second that Myriad God Calamity remained active, Chen Guan landed steadily on the ground. There was not the slightest sign of strain on his face as he cupped his hands in apology.

"I did not dare hold back before Old Hai, so I could only go all out. I hope Old Hai will not take offense."

Though he had gained a slight advantage today, he was not so carried away as to lose all sense of himself.

In truth, if Myriad God Calamity had not caught Hai Bodong off guard, the only way he could have defeated him would have been to fully use Spiritual Power, his trump card.

Moreover, he knew that Hai Bodong had not gone all out. One of his famous techniques, Multiple Mystic Ice Dragon Ascent, had yet to be used.

Still, whether Hai Bodong's current strength could even support it with enough Dou Qi was unknown.

After this battle, Chen Guan gained a more intuitive understanding of his current combat strength. He felt little pressure against ordinary Dou Lings, but against Dou Lings like Hai Bodong, who possessed countless methods, there was still danger.

Compared to such an old veteran, his own methods seemed rather lacking.

Fortunately, Chen Guan had also made plans for his Dou Technique cultivation during this journey of training.

"Brat, what is your relationship with the imperial family?"

Having had his identity recognized, Hai Bodong was not particularly surprised. Instead, he asked the question.

Dusty memories had been uncovered. He recalled that when he was young, someone in the imperial family seemed to have used a similar Dou Technique. However, he later heard that it was difficult to cultivate, rather useless, and incomplete, so no one continued practicing it.

He had found that rather regrettable at the time. Now, someone finally seemed to share his eye for it.

"I grew up in the imperial family."

That one sentence was enough of an answer.

Temporarily ignoring Hai Bodong's suspicious expression, Chen Guan summoned the Desert City Lord, who had long arrived at the Outer Edge to watch the spectacle. He displayed the imperial token and gave him a bag of gold coins as compensation. There was no need for Chen Guan to handle the cleanup afterward.

As for how he had recognized the other man's identity? A small place like Desert City would not ordinarily have an extra Dou Ling appearing here.

"Old Hai, let's talk."

After handling the aftermath, Chen Guan walked toward the Ice Emperor, who was examining him with suspicious eyes.

Hai Bodong glanced at the shops that had already become ruins. He did not refuse, and he and the young man walked toward the outskirts of the city.

He also wanted to know whether smoke had risen from the imperial mausoleum—how else could the imperial family have cultivated such a young man?

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it even if beaten to death.

The two arrived outside the city and climbed a small hill, finally finding a place where they could speak in peace.

"I forgot to introduce myself to Old Hai earlier. My name is Chen Guan."

"You came here specifically for me?"

It was a question, but his certain tone already held the answer.

"That is part of the reason, but not all of it."

"It seems the imperial family has developed quite well during the years this old man has been gone."

Hai Bodong filled in the gaps himself. He assumed the young man had learned of him through the imperial family's channels. Even the Rich and Powerful Mite'er Family had failed to find him, yet the imperial family could. That alone explained much.

Chen Guan had no intention of explaining this to him and simply smiled it off.

"I once obtained a fragment of a map. Coincidentally, it was also bought from one of your Mite'er Family's auction houses. Old Hai has studied it for more than ten years, so you should understand that this fragment may involve some secret. However, without gathering the complete map, any secret would be meaningless. Even with both pieces together, they would make up at most half of it. I am rather interested in this and would like to try collecting it."

Hai Bodong had guessed that he wanted the map fragment.

However, the fact that the Mitel Auction House had actually auctioned one off was far beyond his expectations. He could not help but curse Teng Shan in his heart.

How nice it would have been if they had saved it for him. With two pieces, he would have had half the map. What if he had gotten lucky and gathered them all?

After fantasizing about it briefly, Hai Bodong did not take it seriously. He knew full well that this was harder than finding a needle in the sea.

If it had been so easy, he would not have been left staring helplessly for nearly twenty years.

Compared to excavating map fragments, which took time and effort with no guaranteed results, he was now more inclined to use the fragment in exchange for something more practical.

"I obtained this map fragment by chance back then, and it cost me no small amount of effort. Unfortunately, it was too incomplete, and I could not discover anything from it. So I divided it into two pieces and put one up, hoping my luck might change."

"I truly no longer have many thoughts about it, but you cannot expect to take it away easily. Even if you brought that Old Fellow Jia Xingtian here, as long as I refuse to say anything, no one will find the other half."

Hai Bodong wore an assured expression, as though telling the young man that forceful seizure was not an option. If he wanted the map fragment, he needed to offer a bargaining chip that satisfied him.

Chen Guan was not surprised and knowingly asked, "Then what does Old Hai need?"